Lee Fang-Yu Wins First Prize at the 3rd CTBC Painting Prize with her Monumental “Tile Painting”

NT$2 Million Prize Fund Fuels the Exploration of Painting's Essence and Creative Spirit

The winners of the third CTBC Painting Prize, hosted by the CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture, have been announced. Lee Fang-Yu won the First Prize with her work, White Ceramic Tiles, Flower, Gap, receiving a cash prize of NT$800,000. The three Merit Prize winners, each receiving NT$400,000, are Chang Hao-Yu for Beginning with Water… Then a Simulated Narrative, Huang Kuan-Chun for Space of Presence and Absence, and Huang Chia-Ning for Cactus Segment (Monkey Tail Cactus).

The CTBC Painting Prize encourages artists to explore the contemporary expressive language and boundaries of painting. It is the only award in Taiwan to focus specifically on "contemporary painting." This year, the award attracted enthusiastic participation from both emerging and established creators, showcasing the rich energy of Taiwanese painting in terms of form, material, and concept. The jury included Lin Ping (CEO of Taiwan Art Foundation), Lee Kit (Artist), Leo Xu (Former Senior Director at David Zwirner Gallery, now an independent curator), Chen Shiau-Peng (Professor at the School of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts), and Chiang Hui-Ting (Consultant, CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture), bringing a balanced perspective from academia, curatorial practice, artistic creation, and international art.

Lin Ping, who served as the jury chair, is not only the initiator and institutional force behind the CTBC Painting Prize but has also guided the award's optimization and growth. Lin believes the award's purpose is to constantly challenge creators to think about what contemporary painting is. In just three editions, she has observed the cross-section and diversity of the works, which lack a fixed viewpoint. "The works this year possess a greater human warmth. Within our own culture, there is a kind of inner spiritual quality, a sense of self-contentment, that must be sought in everyday life. The winning works this year no longer focus on social issues, liberating painting and presenting the relationship between art and humanity, like a loyal, intimate good friend."

Lee Fang-Yu's grand prize-winning work, White Ceramic Tiles, Flower, Gap, received unanimous praise from the jury. Lee Fang-Yu drew inspiration from the common, everyday "white tiles" seen everywhere in Taiwan. She combined acrylic and charcoal with laser stickers, using a "grid covering grid" technique to dissolve the cement seams. She spliced 72 sets of white tiles to create a massive wall, 14 meters long, re-ordering familiar structure and viewing habits. Juror Leo Xu commented that the first prize winner "incorporates the lighter creative approach of the new generation; the humor in slicing and re-assembly is truly striking." Juror Lee Kit also felt the work "brings a rare sense of freshness and is highly convincing."

The Merit Prize winners similarly opened up the experimental nature of painting through diverse materials. Huang Kuan-Chun's Space of Presence and Absence freed the pigment from the constraints of the canvas, allowing it to become a painterly substance suspended on the wall, interacting with light. Juror Chen Shiau-Peng commented: "This work makes you wonder, 'Is this painting?' The creator utilizes the translucency of plastic to display interesting shifts in layering. At first glance, you might think it's just a sheet of plastic, but it is actually very labor-intensive." Chang Hao-Yu, the youngest award-winning artist at only 25, used Beginning with Water… Then a Simulated Narrative, to freely spread oil paint and charcoal powder across an unframed canvas, constructing an unfinished narrative scene. Juror Lee Kit believed that the work was well-handled in terms of composition and spatial depth. Furthermore, the Merit Prize winning piece, Cactus Segment (Monkey Tail Cactus), by Huang Chia-Ning, an artist who has received numerous accolades, utilized precise brushwork to showcase "micro-representation." The high level of completeness in the painting's composition and execution earned unanimous praise from the jury.

The CTBC Painting Prize supports the diverse development of contemporary painting and continues to promote deep dialogue between art and society. The Prize is hosted biennially. Through its open call, prize selection, exhibitions in art museum, and collection, the Prize aims to support Taiwanese artists aged between 20 to 45. A total of 19 winning and shortlisted works from the third edition will be publicly exhibited at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts, from March 13 to June 14, 2026.